Cameroon maps six zones for mining
Cameroon has identified six regions in the country for geological and geochemical mapping. Work on the six zones, Adamawa, the Centre, East, Littoral, North-West and South-West will be carried out by a group of firms comprising BRGM, Cameroonian company BEIG3 and Finnish GTK.
During 30 months, about fifteen experts in the consortium will travel to the above-mentioned regions, with a view to “drawing up 13 geological maps at 1/200 000, exploring mining sites with a sampling of a total of 18000 specimens, and set up a geological and mining information system to disseminate information and promote the Cameroonian mining sector”.
This programme of geological and geochemical mapping has a budget of around FCfa 4.5 billion, financed by the World Bank. It is undertaken within the framework of the Project to Strengthen Capacity in the Mining Sector (Precasem - Projet de renforcement des capacités dans le secteur minier), supervised by the Ministry of Mines.
Within the framework of this same Precasem, the Cameroonian government initiated in January 2014, operations of “airborne geophysical survey” covering an area of 160,000 Km2 spread between the six regions of the country (North, Adamawa, West, East, Littoral and Centre).
All its activities will be financially supported by the World Bank, as it aim to assess the real mining potential of Cameroon, of which only 40 per cent of the country has been subjected to mining exploration up until now.
